Mark Thompson | Start of Season Message
Happy New Season, everyone!
It seems like only the blink of an eye that the 2023/24 campaign was drawing to a close. Two weeks ago we launched the 24/25 season at our ‘Big Bash’ with 450 players, fans, partners, staff, and friends in the room together from our rugby and community footprint. The warmth and depth of feeling in the room amongst our family was unbelievable to witness. We are ready to do it all over again.
Our Men’s squad will feature several new faces this year. The press has repeatedly told you that! We have been back since mid-July, including a punishing training week in Portugal. This weekend we go to Gloucester and welcome everyone back to StoneX Stadium next weekend vs Sale Sharks. This has been my first pre-season but what I hear from coaches and players alike is consistent - this new-look group has been engaged as any in memory. It has been great to see that bond forming in real-time, now lead by Maro as he steps into the captaincy. A more impressive ambassador for our sport is hard to find. I urge you to watch our new long-form content series “The Saracens People Don’t See” released on Friday on our YouTube Channel. Everything good about Saracens and our people is on show in there. In amongst that is the voice of some of our youth. The England Under 20s winning the World Cup was a highlight of the summer featuring several of our club. We also had more Under 18s representatives in the England squad than any other club. Trust us when we say this, the future is very bright.
Our Women’s squad are facing a shortened season brought about by the enormity of a home World Cup. They are already back and started the season off with a bang with a PWR UP win away at Quins last weekend, flexing our impressive squad depth with many away with their international teams. The season is short this year and we hope and expect to compete strongly towards and at a mid-March final. You will see us innovate this year to support the growth of women’s sport. We want to create the best player-first model out there, innovate via broadcasting and take a leadership role in the sport. Stay tuned for more info around this.
Off-the-pitch, we made steady progress around commercial growth. We made a few decisions over the past six months to streamline our focus and now we are concentrating on ensuring growth in our core areas as a result. You may have seen me comment on such matters in the press over the past week, and efforts being made to grow the game across the board.
Some great news already as sales for The Showdown 5 are already record breaking, despite only going on General Sale last week. We are already tracking 30% up on last year! Everyone in attendance last year will have seen what an amazing event it is, and to have announced an extension to our deal with Tottenham Hotspur Stadium until at least 2028 is a major step forward for us. Our operations team have been working very hard to ensure that StoneX Stadium remains the best place in the country to watch rugby. Hopefully you will agree that by the time our first home match against Sale Sharks comes around next week that the work has been worth it.
Organisations and their employees now demand a more purpose-driven approach to activities. Given our strong community footprint, it’s natural we are now leaning our sponsorship proposition towards this. We were delighted in the summer to announce a long-term renewal with StoneX in a club-wide deal. A better and more committed sponsor in our industry would be hard to find! StoneX form a nice grouping developing with Shawbrook Bank and new arrival Watches of Bath towards the top of our partnership pyramid. We also announced a long-term renewal with Castore, including them taking over our retail operations. We think this year’s kits look great and feedback has been very positive.
Saracens has always been prided itself on being much more than a rugby club, and having a genuine impact in North London.
You will know by now how in awe I am of the day-to-day we do in our community. A few weeks ago I got to spend my birthday morning at the launch of the Saracens Bell Lane Primary School. Standing up to address a sea of young children proudly sporting their red new Saracens school jumpers was such a lovely and humbling moment. Similar to this, the week before I got to attend Saracens High School for their GCSE Results Day and to witness the faces of all the students as they opened their record-breaking results. Their work dovetails that with the Saracens Foundation, who continue to grow their impact in the number and impact of programmes touching and changing lives of the people in our community. Going to these events, accompanied by members of our Men’s and Women’s team, is always the highlight of any week.
We are delighted to be back watching rugby. Both of our teams have all the ingredients to achieve something truly special this year, and together with all of you I can’t wait to see it unfold.
Best,
Mark
